At its annual press conference, EV Belgium, the umbrella federation representing the business ecosystem behind zero-emission mobility, delivered impressive figures: 2025 ended with more than 145,000 newly sold electric vehicles, a market share of 35 percent, and nearly 450,000 EVs on Belgian roads.
Much of that success, however, is driven by the continued dominance of company cars. While EV Belgium urges the government to do more to encourage private buyers through targeted incentives, the federation itself does not see a role in directly informing hesitant consumers or countering the increasingly negative narrative surrounding electric vehicles.
Charging infrastructure +20%
On the ‘good news’ side, public and semi-public charging infrastructure grew by more than 20 percent in a single year, with fast-charging capacity expanding even faster.
The figures also reveal pronounced regional differences. Flanders continues to dominate both vehicle uptake and charging infrastructure, accounting for more than three quarters of Belgium’s public and semi-public charging points, with over 82,000 installations by the end of 2025.
Wallonia, while still trailing in absolute numbers, recorded the fastest growth due entirely to private initiatives, particularly in fast charging, where capacity increased by more than 90 percent in a single year, reflecting a clear catch-up dynamic.
Brussels, constrained by its dense urban fabric, posted more modest growth but remains strategically important due to its high concentration of company cars and commuters.
Taken together, the figures suggest that Belgium’s EV transition is progressing unevenly, raising questions not only about market maturity but also about who is being reached, and who is being left behind.
Among Europe’s forerunners
However, on paper, Belgium looks firmly on track towards electrification, with infrastructure development now placing the country among Europe’s frontrunners.
With electric vehicles accounting for roughly one third of new car sales, Belgium performs well above the European Union average, which still lags in the mid-teens.
It also outpaces larger neighbouring markets such as Germany and France, where the transition has slowed after changes to incentive schemes and where private adoption remains hesitant.
Only The Netherlands consistently matches or exceeds Belgium’s electrification rate among its immediate neighbours, and even there the transition is more evenly spread between corporate and private buyers.
The comparison reinforces Belgium’s paradoxical position: a European frontrunner on paper, driven largely by fiscal policy and company cars, yet still struggling to translate that success into broad-based consumer confidence.
Below its potential
Yet behind the confident statistics and optimistic outlook for 2026, the tone of both the press conference and the accompanying press release revealed a more fragile reality.
EV Belgium openly acknowledged that growth in electric vehicle sales remains below its potential, particularly outside the company car segment. Private buyers, the second-hand market, electric vans and trucks are all lagging behind.
The federation warned that without urgent policy intervention, Belgium risks ending up with world-class charging infrastructure but an underdeveloped and uneven vehicle fleet.
No public engagement?
The diagnosis is familiar, but EV Belgium’s allocation of responsibility is revealing. While positioning itself as the authoritative voice of zero-emission mobility, the federation largely sidesteps public engagement.
EV Belgium claims bringing together around 140 companies active across the electromobility value chain, from vehicle makers and energy firms to charging operators and service providers. This represents a business ecosystem that supports some 50,000 jobs and generates roughly €30 billion in annual turnover in Belgium’s emerging electric-mobility economy.
Asked whether it should help to better inform citizens and counter the negative narrative around electric vehicles, Philippe Vangeel, who serves as Director and Spokesperson of EV Belgium and is the former Secretary General of AVERE, the European Association for Electromobility, replied that this is a task for government.
That answer crystallises how EV Belgium defines its role: as a market and policy actor, not a societal one. Its focus lies on data, infrastructure, regulation and fiscal frameworks, addressing ministers, administrations and fleet actors rather than consumers. Public acceptance is treated as an outcome of good policy, not something to be actively shaped.
The caution is understandable for a federation representing more than 140 companies, keen to avoid the appearance of promotion. Yet it comes at a cost.
Emotional and cultural debate
EV Belgium itself warns that hesitation among private buyers, a weak second-hand market and persistent uncertainty are slowing the transition. Still, it declines ownership of the narrative problem, trusting that clearer rules and better incentives will suffice.
In a debate that has become as cultural and emotional as it is economic, that assumption looks increasingly fragile. By leaving the public conversation almost entirely to government, EV Belgium risks reinforcing the image of electrification as a top-down, corporate-led project, and missing a chance to use its unique expertise to bridge the widening gap between policy success and public trust.
